Admirals to Battle Pirates at Scope This Weekend

NORFOLK, VA – The Norfolk Admirals will look to build momentum this weekend at Scope as they battle the Portland Pirates this Friday and Saturday.

Last week, the Admirals went 1-2-0-0 on a three-game road trip. On Wednesday in Albany, Brandon Bochenski gave the Admirals a 1-0 lead but the Admirals offense stalled the rest of the way as they fell to the River Rats 3-1. On Friday in Syracuse, Ryan Craig potted two goals but the Admirals fell to the Crunch 5-4. On Saturday in Bridgeport, Dustin Tokarski stopped 27 shots to propel the Admirals past the Sound Tigers 2-1.

The Admirals will drop the puck on a three-game homestand this weekend at Scope against the Portland Pirates. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Saturday is Hope at the Scope night to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. A special Celebrity Hockey Game will take place at 5:00 p.m. More details are available below.

EAST DIVISION STANDINGSAt 2-4-0-0 (4 points), the Admirals are in seventh place in the American Hockey League’s East Division. The East is led by the Albany River Rats and Hershey Bears (4-2-0-0, 8 pts). They are followed by the Adirondack Phantoms (3-2-1-0, 7 pts), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (3-2-0-0, 6 pts), Binghamton Senators (2-2-2-0, 6 pts) and Syracuse Crunch (2-3-0-1, 5 pts). Click here for the complete, up-to-the-minute AHL standings.

The Admirals have killed all 15 opponent power plays over their last five games.

Norfolk has allowed only six opponent power play opportunities over the past three games.

The Admirals fell to the Syracuse Crunch 5-4 on Friday night at the Onondaga County War Memorial at Oncenter. The game was Norfolk’s first in Syracuse since a 3-0 victory on January 3, 2003 and was the first anywhere against the Crunch since a 3-3 tie on January 17, 2003 at Scope. The Crunch moved to the East Division this season after spending the past several seasons in the Western Conference.

Norfolk scored on its only power play opportunity of the game on Friday in Syracuse to break a 0-18 streak on the power play to start the season.

Matt Lashoff picked up his first Norfolk point with an assist on Saturday in Bridgeport. Mark Parrish (1G, 1A) and Adam Hall (0G, 1A) each recorded their first Norfolk points on Friday in Syracuse.

ADMIRALS PLAYER OF THE WEEKRyan Craig: 3GP, 3G, 1A, 4PTSVeteran center Ryan Craig paced Norfolk with four points last week. On Wednesday in Albany, Craig set up the first goal of the game in an eventual loss to the River Rats. On Friday in Syracuse, Craig netted two goals to put the Admirals ahead by two goals in an eventual loss to the Crunch. On Saturday in Bridgeport, he scored the game-winning third period goal in a 2-1 victory over the Sound Tigers.

Craig now leads the Admirals with five points (4G, 1A) on the season. The five points have come in a four-game scoring streak dating back to an empty-net goal against the Manchester Monarchs on October 10. He is tied with Brandon Bochenski for the team lead in goals with four.

THIS SATURDAY IS HOPE AT THE SCOPESaturday night is Hope at the Scope to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. Discounted $11.50 Red Level Tickets are available for advance purchase only at alz.org/seva that will admit fans to the Admirals game as well as a celebrity hockey game at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday evening at Scope. Proceeds will benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. More details are available at norfolkadmirals.com.

TEN PACKSAdmirals Ten Packs offer a flexible and affordable way to watch Admirals hockey at Scope. Ten packs consist of ten undated ticket vouchers at $1 off the gate price. These vouchers may be redeemed at the Scope Box Office anytime for tickets to any 2009-10 Admirals regular season home game. Fans can use all ten vouchers at once, spread them out for a single ticket over ten different games, or anywhere in-between. Plus, there are no ticket fees and you save $10 over the life of the ten pack. For more details, call (757) 640-1212 or visit visit norfolkadmirals.com.

THIS WEEK ON THE ADMIRALS HOUR RADIO SHOWTune in to the Admirals Hour on Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN Radio 94.1-FM. “The Voice of the Admirals” Pete Michaud will be joined in the studio by Forward #9 Blair Jones and Goaltender #34 Dustin Tokarski. If you have a question for the show, please call (757) 687-9494 during the show or email keith@norfolkadmirals.com prior to 2:00 on Thursday afternoon.

SCOUTING REPORTThe Admirals and Pirates will face off in a nautical theme this weekend at Scope. Portland (2-5-0-0) is tied for seventh place in the Atlantic Division and has dropped two straight games and three of its last four. The Pirates have yet to win a game on the road this season. The Admirals and Pirates both rely on young, top-prospect goaltenders, with the Admirals trusting rookies Dustin Tokarski and Jaroslav Janus and second-year pro Riku Helenius and the Pirates backstopped by second-year pros Jhonas Enroth and Jean-Philippe Lamoureux. Both Norfolk and Portland are off until their two-game set on Friday and Saturday at Scope.

TICKETSTo purchase tickets to any Admirals game, you may visit the Scope Box Office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., visit any Ticketmaster outlet, call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or visit Ticketmaster online at ticketmaster.com. Don’t miss a minute of the action by purchasing your 2009-10 season tickets today. Stop by the Admirals’ Administrative Offices at Scope, call (757) 640-1212 weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or visit norfolkadmirals.com anytime!

ON THE RADIO/INTERNETAll eighty regular season games will air live on STAR 1310-AM and will stream online free of charge at star1310.com. AHL Live will carry online video of every Admirals game on a pay-per-view or season pass basis. Fans can log in to watch or get more information about AHL Live’s online video features at ahllive.com.